Category: Cigars

Holy crap! Am I really posting a blog on the correct day? Yes, this is real. Today it was the Las Calaveras 2017 and it was fantastic! Smoked it earlier today when it was 70 degrees F and a slight breeze. This cigar goes for $10.75 and it is an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper with a Nicaraguan Binder and Filler.

Initial thoughts are that the wrapper had a nice oily feel to it. Definitely had a strong smell of pepper to it which I haven’t really experienced before either. Well constructed and only one noticeable vein running about 2/3 down the side.

So the cold draw gave off flavors of sweet leather, once lit, the first flavor that was picked up was just general baking spices.

As the first third kept going, roast coffee and a nutty flavor started to become apparent. There was a peculiar taste that I really enjoyed that I can only relate to that smell of an old style colonial hearth if you’ve ever been to a re-enactment village in the USA before.. a little leather and cardamom as well.

Moving on to the second third!

Second third starts to put off a wood like flavor with some more coffee and nut flavors. Cardamom became more apparent as well and leather is now a stronger flavor. Black pepper starting to show its face which is tolerable for now.

Just me trying to be fancy!

As the final third ran its course, I was incredibly surprised that a strong cocoa flavor started to form which was absolutely tasty! This thing had awesome smoke output with lots of flavor and it had no burn issues at all. This cigar is getting a 4.25/5 leaves. Damn good cigar Crowned Heads. Keep making cigars great again! 😎

Hey guys, my life has been and seems to be seemingly more crazy as it goes on and I apologize for the last two inconsistently published blogs.

So I smoked a Dapper Cubo Maduro which boasts a damn near flawless, beautiful Mexican San Andreas wrapper, and then a Nicaraguan binder and filler. Almost no visible veins on the wrapper, and it had a nice oily wrapper. Smelled almost like a semi-sweet chocolate from the outside. The cold draw had an orange citrus like flavor to it.

Right upon light-up, the smoke already was full of flavor! I picked up right away on some citrus notes followed by a deep coffee and cream flavor. Further into the first-third, semi-sweet chocolate became more apparent also. Heading towards the second-third, roast coffee became pretty abundant. Hint of clove but not much.

Second-third is where roast coffee became very prominent. Started to pick up on hints of leather as well as a bit of black pepper. The cigar had a nice earthiness and cocoa to it at this point. Slight bitterness as well which was pleasant, almost like cardamom..

Look at that beautiful, full ash. This cigar was built with a lot of care and attention. The final third I only really could pick up on roast coffee and black pepper. Small amount of leather too. This was a damn good cigar that was medium-full flavor and medium strength. Definitely worth $10 if you ever find yourself face-to-face with this masterpiece!

Wow, sorry for the delay on this weeks blog guys. Life has been incredibly hectic, trying to find a job and other plans I had tended too. So this monster was given to me from someone on Reddit. Steve from Dapper Cigars. I want to apologize because I was supposed to be writing a review for the Cubo Maduro from Dapper but something came up and I had to put it out and relight it later.. didn’t think it would’ve been a fair review but there is a second Cubo Maduro to be reviewed this up coming Friday! On to the review!

Holy cow, if only this thing came with a bow, even though it can’t be fired properly from a bow, it sure was fired up properly to smoke! So this stick does have a very unique shape… the cigar also had a bit of a spongy, light feel to it for a cigar of its stature. The Chingonomo is a Mexican wrapper with a Honduran binder. The fillers are a mix from the Dominican Republic, Pennsylvania and Nicaragua. It MSRP’s at $14.50. It only had one sizable vein running down the middle.

So upon cutting the cigar, the cold draw had a very citrus heavy taste. It almost tasted like smelling an orange Fanta. Once lit, the citrus notes were definitely in the forefront still. Cocoa and leather were kind of a light after taste along with a small hint of licorice. Definitely picked up on some cedar and black pepper as well.

Quite the tasty cigar. The ash is also holding together very well. Cedar and orange becoming the strongest flavors in this cigar and it is wonderful! I just want to take a moment to point out how beautifully simple this band is also.

As I began to move into the second-third, citrus still took to the front of the flavor. Espresso notes and dark chocolate are beginning to pop up which is tasting more like a Jaffa cake. If you’ve never had one, it is a sweet biscuit with a delicious orange marmalade on top which is covered with a thin chocolate shell.

The closer I got to the end of the second-third, the wrapper started to crack and lift itself up. I was slightly concerned but it didn’t cause a problem like I thought it would. Cedar, espresso, leather and black pepper all become very powerful at this point kind of masking the citrus flavor.

The final third had a very light leather taste. Cedar and dark chocolate still prominent but not as much as the black pepper which I thought became a little too over-powering.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic cigar. The smoke was thick and flavorful. Very well constructed and considering the size it was only a medium strength cigar. It was raining all day with a slight breeze so it made for a nice time to have this cigar. Took about two and a half hours and I give it a 4.25/5 leaves. I highly recommend this stick if you can find one!

Hey guys! As you can all see, I quite literally just lit this up. I am actually writing this while I smoke it, kind of a new thing for me but I’ve smoked this stick like 5-6 times now. I love this cigar a lot.

RomaCraft started as just a couple dudes in a Texas garage who wanted a kick ass cigar.. thus their awesome company was born. I love everything they make but the Cromagnon for me takes the cake. It just has a nice dark, oily wrapper and so many flavor nuances.

As I work my way into the first third, I’m already picking up some nice cocoa notes. A little bitter earth notes that I also quite enjoy. Also boy oh boy does this thing smoke a ton. Very thick and smooth trails are flowing off this bad boy.

Beginning to pick up sort of a more espresso flavor over just cocoa. I wouldn’t say coffee because it is more bitter than coffee.. so yeah let’s go with espresso. Also a slight nutty flavor to it which is pleasing.

For the first time ever with this line, some burn line problems are occurring. Nothing severe that warrants a touch up.. not yet at least.

Bought a sampler of some different shock top flavors the other day. Decided to have one while smoking this stoagie. It’s actually a really refreshing palate cleanse and it is quite warm out tonight so it cools me off also!

Still can’t get over this smoke. It looks like milk. What a damn fine cigar folks. Also the ash is holding very well. You can definitely tell they take pride in rolling quality cigars. Those cocoa notes are definitely becoming more of a dark chocolate.

Very happily heading into the second-third. Ash is still holding on strong and I’m getting coffee with cream flavors now. The original bitterness toned down a lot. Also beginning to pick up some black pepper, a minimal but albeit noticeable amount. Leather is starting to also become apparent.

Took a picture of how well made the cigar is due to the resilience of the ash and it literally fell off as soon as I took this. LOL. Black pepper and leather are becoming the forefront of the cigar now. The chocolate is taking a back seat for sure now.

Still picking up the same flavors as before. Mainly BP though now. The final third is coming up and I will just be enjoying it now as always. Hope you had a nice read as I enjoyed writing it up!

Hey guys sorry for taking all day to write this blog, been a very long and crazy day! Also before I start, the blog is going to be posted every Friday. If you guys want more frequent blogs, please let me know and I will try my hardest to make it happen!

So todays blog we are featuring the Illusione Rothchildes. This sticks name pops up quite a bit on reddit and other forums whenever people are asking for a decent budget stick and so it was time to give it a try. It cost $5.50 at the local B&M and it is a San Andreas wrapper with a Nicaraguan filler and binder. My initial thoughts on this particular cigar was that the construction was very nice! Minimal veins from the wrapper if any at all and the smell of it was nice and earthy. It was a wonderful day outside too, unlike today unfortunately.

First third – So right off the bat, leather was the very first note picked up from this cigar and boy was it prominent. The leather was so strong that it had tasted as if I walked into a leather store and just inhaled thru the mouth like a vacuum. As the cigar started to burn, floral notes and white pepper started to become more noticeable. The closer to the second third I started to pick up another flavor that I couldn’t quite put my finger on…

Second third – Cedar! It was cedar that I was tasting and boy was it good. Cedar is such a nice smell and taste, it just comes off as clean and crisp. The cedar had a slight char flavor too it which was nice as well! The white pepper definitely started to become more of a spicier black pepper. Still had notes of leather but not as strong anymore. The black pepper became a bit too harsh for me so I decided to go grab a 21st Amendment Brewery IPA which helped bring back some of the floral notes that I was enjoying in the first third as the IPA itself has a really nice crisp floral and hoppy flavor to it.

Final third – I want to say that I really enjoyed the final third, but unfortunately as the beer ran dry, the flavor went back to an overwhelming black pepper again which is not a favorite flavor of mine. About halfway through the final third it was smashed into the ash tray never to be smoked again.

I have to say, the aroma of the cigar was quite nice. The smoke itself was kind of harsh on the back of my throat but it could have been me smoking it to fast.. The cut was just a straight guillotine cut again which gave it a nice open draw. Nicotine content felt rather high in this cigar, kind of gave me a bit of a head change (I’m sure the beer helped that, lol). All in all I give it a 3.75/5 leaves, well priced and a decent enough cigar. Until next time!

Hey guys, Zack here! Please excuse any grammatical errors and run on sentences; I am not an English professor. So a little background on me, I have had depression and anxiety for the large majority of my life and I still do. I was turned towards cigars by my fiancée’s dad about a year ago. I have to say, as an avid gamer, I used to use the alternate reality’s of games as an escape from my problems but once the monitor was off, they just came back to me. Cigars have been almost therapeutic for me though because I am able to really think about things that are bothering me and I can also focus on the outside surroundings and the cigar itself.

Anything I say in these blogs I want you all to take it with a grain of salt. I am still learning a lot every day when it comes to cigars. There are so many different brands that are good and bad. Also there can be very complex cigars like the one I am going to review or they can be very one-dimensional like other cigars that I have had. But just because a cigar can be one-dimensional, does not mean that it is bad!

Just as most people do I will break the cigar down into thirds -first, second and third. I want this blog to be about more than just cigars though, I will be sharing my initial thoughts and ending thoughts along with the atmosphere in which I smoked the stoagie and any pairings I had with it. On to the cigar…

Initial thoughts were that it was constructed very well! Wrapped nicely and no visible, large veins in the outer wrapper. The head of the cigar has a nice sweetness to it but also earthy so I relate it to that of a raisin. The band of the cigar has a nice minimalistic and dark color to it which I also enjoyed.

Cold draw and First third were very nice if I might say so myself. So the cold draw was very open which could also be because of my cut which was an straight cut with a guillotine cutter. The cold draw flavor was almost grape like but leaning more towards wine. The first third when I lit it, wasn’t the most complex third but still more complex than the final third. I kept getting a molasses/raisin flavor and some spicy qualities at first which I attributed to white pepper. The longer I worked on the first third, it became more clear that I was tasting cardamom and clove kind of like a nice chai tea.

The cigar got really fun during its second third. The first part of the second was a nice bitterness like espresso but also more cardamom heavy. As I got further into, I started to notice a dark chocolate flavor and then that turned into a black cherry flavor. I was drinking a diet cola with this cigar which changed that cherry/dark chocolate flavor into those tasty maraschino chocolate covered cherries. It was very tantalizing to my tastebuds as I haven’t been able to usually discern flavors like this before!

The final third is going to be a short description because then it becomes one-dimensional for me. All I got from it was strong black pepper and a hint of that chocolate covered cherries. Way more pepper though and it became overwhelming to my senses and not as enjoyable to continue smoking so I had to put it out halfway thru the last third.

Overall, the cigar was really nice. It was priced at about $7 at my local B&M which I believe to be a fair price for the cigar. The nicotine strength kind of snook up on me and knocked me over a bit towards the final third but it wasn’t terrible. The weather was a nice high 70’s to low 80’s with a wonderful breeze. I give this stick a 4/5 leaves.

Apologies for the long first read, I will try to formulate my thoughts about cigars a bit better in the future and I hope you were able to take something away from this blog!